Interview
‘I’m capable of doing a lot better’ – Stevens determined to progress after ticking off debut F1 ACADEMY weekend
Although she came close to breaking into the top 10 in Shanghai, Ella Stevens was left wanting more after completing her first weekend in F1 ACADEMY.
With limited experience in single-seater racing, the McLaren Oxagon driver faced a steep learning curve throughout the round while still succeeding in demonstrating her pace from the get-go. In Qualifying, she was only 0.005s slower than teammate and fellow McLaren junior Ella Lloyd.
The lap earned her P11, which she maintained in Race 1 before losing one position in Race 2, marking a consistent weekend for someone who only made their debut in single-seaters in February during the Formula Winter Series.
Reflecting on how that experience at a rain-soaked Portimão Circuit compared to Shanghai, Stevens said: “I was definitely thrown in the deep end having only done one race before in the wet, so this was my first dry race ever.
“It was quite tricky and it’s hard because I know that I’m capable of doing a lot better than I did. I guess everyone has to start somewhere and it’s just important that I take forward from this weekend, work on it and hopefully improve.”
While Stevens and her competitors had the advantage of taking part in a pre-season test at the technical Shanghai track, they will not receive the same benefit ahead of Montreal, presenting another hurdle for the young racer. However, as the scheduled round in Jeddah will not go ahead, she now has more time to hone her skills.
“I think a big challenge is just the track time,” she added. “You only get one Practice and then it’s straight into Qualifying – it’s pretty hard to do that. Coming from karting, I’m really not used to that.
“I just have a lot to work on ready for the next race, especially with two months now. It’s going to be tricky. I think just mainly working on the sim and making sure I work really well with the team so I have the best preparation for it.”